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But the contrast with Clinton is two-sided. As Joe Klein has so strongly captured him, Clinton was "the natural," a leader with a genuine interest in the policy process who encouraged information-rich decision-making.
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A Bush administration guy tells a journalist that the Bush administration admires the Clinton White House's ability to avoid politics in constructing policy. The journalist writes a story about it, and then the administration guy takes it all back. Hmmm.
But "Natural" didn't refer to Clinton's ability to write policy. Clinton's natural ability was that of the consummate politician, who could walk into any room, determine exactly what that room wanted to hear, and then TELL them exactly that. Klein was the guy who basically revealed circa 1993 that Clinton A) was relentlessly political and B) a total horn-dog who took any and every opportunity to hit on anything that moved, even during the campaign.
Suskind's article rings true in the dynamic of campaigns. The politician is the nice guy everyone loves. The political consultants and other staffers are the ones who are relentlessly and ruthlessly political. The candidates understand the game and are mostly concerned with message and fundraising. The real dirty stuff happens one layer down, or up depending on how you think of it.